Page 28 of Lessons in Love at the Cornish Country Hospital

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Danni knew how easy a decision it had been for Esther and Joe to get married at the beautiful St Jude’s church in Port Agnes. There were so many factors in its favour, not least of which was that the church in Port Kara was where Esther had planned to marry Lucas. But the vicar at St Jude’s, Noah, was a huge draw too. He radiated warmth and kindness, and had made them all laugh at the rehearsal a couple of days before the wedding, when Esther’s nerves had been obvious. His wife Issy, one of the midwives who worked out of the Port Agnes midwifery unit, was pregnant herself, and Danni had enjoyed chatting to her about their impending arrivals.

Making new mum friends was something she knew she needed to do once the baby arrived, but she’d been apprehensive about finding people she’d have enough in common with. At the pre-natal classes she’d gone to, she’d been the oldest of the expectant mums, and most of them already seemed to know one another. The Three Ports area could be like that and, although Danni had grown up in another part of Cornwall, she wasn’t local and she didn’t have the kind of long-established friendships the other women in her group already seemed tohave, except with her colleagues at the hospital. Her bond with Esther, which had started well over a decade before in London, was stronger than any friendship she could ever imagine building with anyone else. But Issy was someone she could see herself building a bond with too, and by the time the rehearsal was over the two women had exchanged numbers.

The day of the wedding itself dawned bright, and the view from St Jude’s across the clifftop to the sea was almost as breathtaking as the sight of the bride. Danni, who’d agreed to be maid of honour, despite feeling like an ostrich egg on legs, had welled up the moment she saw her best friend when Esther had come down the stairs at her parents’ house.

‘My brother is officially the luckiest man in the world.’

‘You look beautiful.’ Esther’s father, Patrick, had been even less successful at holding back the emotion than Danni, and her mother didn’t even try.

‘My darling girl. You deserve the best day and the happiest marriage, and I know you’re going to have that with Joe.’ Caroline had slipped an arm around her daughter’s waist as she spoke, and she’d held out her other hand to Danni. ‘What makes it even better is that today you two finally become sisters. Call it in-law if you will, but we know it’s a deeper bond than that. We’ve called you our girls for years, and now it’s official.’

It was typical of Esther’s family to make Danni feel special and loved, even on their daughter’s big day. She wouldn’t have her parents standing watching her descend the stairs when she eventually married Charlie, but she had a found family she knew she could rely on. Nicola had accepted the invitation to Esther and Joe’s wedding, but both Danni and Joe knew it wasn’t a certainty that she’d turn up. Even if she did, there’d be no heartfelt sentiments for her only son. Like Danni, Joe had long since learnt to cultivate other relationships. After his return from Australia, he’d quickly grown close to Charlie, andso it had been no surprise when he’d asked Danni’s fiancé to be his best man. Esther’s other bridesmaid was Angela, a friend of Joe’s from Brisbane, who’d recently moved to the UK to take a job at St Piran’s, and whom everyone called Chooky. Aidan and Jase were ushers, and there were so many of the team from A&E on the guest list that the hospital had needed to arrange extra agency cover. It felt all day as though Danni was surrounded by family, and she could tell her brother felt the same way.

Nicola eventually put in an appearance, turning up late and clattering in with her partner Paul to the back of the church, midway through Esther and Joe’s vows. Later on, she loudly gave unwanted and unnecessary advice to the captain of the boat that took them along the coast from Port Agnes to the reception venue in Port Kara. Esther and Joe had arranged a vintage double-decker bus to take guests from the church down to the harbour, which was lovely, but the boat trip itself was spectacular, passing the dramatic cliffs at Dagger’s Head and showing off the Cornish Atlantic coast at its finest.

The reception was being held at Bocca Felice, an Italian restaurant, with a beautiful terrace overlooking the bay below, which made it look and feel as though they were in Sorrento. There was a marquee pitched in the grounds, where there’d be dancing late into the evening. Every moment of the wedding had been carefully thought out, and Danni couldn’t imagine anything that would have made it more perfect. It was everything a wedding should be and more, until shortly after eight o’clock, when the band had begun playing, and Esther and Joe had just had their first dance. That’s when something happened to change the atmosphere.

‘Doesn’t it embarrass you?’ Lucas suddenly appeared out of the shadows, the sneer on his face twisting the features Danni had once thought so handsome.

‘What, you turning up uninvited?’ She’d been on her way back from the marquee to the terrace, the heat getting to her far more quickly now that she was so far along in her pregnancy.

‘Huh!’ He grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into the flesh and making her gasp in pain. ‘Standing up there pretending to be Esther’s best friend when you spent all those years desperately fantasising about what you wanted to do to her fiancé. Every time I so much as looked at you, you were like a bitch on heat.’

This time it was his words that made her gasp; it couldn’t have made her reel any harder if he’d slapped her across the face. What made it worse was that she knew there was some truth in his words. The sight of him made her flesh crawl now, but even that didn’t compare to her gut-wrenching reaction when she thought about how close she’d come to betraying her best friend for such a repugnant man. But she hadn’t, and she knew that was all that mattered to Esther. So she refused to let Lucas see that he still had the power to get to her.

‘Take your hands off me, Lucas. Now!’ As she tried to yank her arm away from him, he just tightened his grip.

‘Maybe I should give you what you wanted all that time. Wouldn’t that be a thrill, us finally living out all your fantasies, behind Esther’s back, not to mention the father of your baby?’

‘I’d rather die, now let me go!’ She screamed the words this time, trying to kick out at him as he held on to her, and instinctively wrapping her other arm around her bump.

‘You heard her. Let her go. Right now.’ Esther was running towards them, barefoot and with the skirt of her dress hiked up to aid her movement.

‘What, are you still jealous?’ Lucas laughed, finally releasing Danni’s arm, the angry imprints of his fingernails visible even under the muted glow of the festoon lights.

‘Just go, Lucas, no one wants you here.’ Esther’s tone was calm, but there was a flash of defiance in her eyes. She was the kindest person Danni had ever met, but she’d also seen how fearless her friend could be when she was protecting the people she loved.

Suddenly Lucas’s expression changed, the laughter dying in his throat as he looked at her. ‘There was never any need for you to be jealous, you’re still the love of my life. You always will be.’

‘It’s unfortunate for you that you didn’t turn out to be mine.’ There was no glee in Esther’s tone, just a matter-of-factness that made it all the more convincing.

‘And I suppose Joe is?’

‘Yes, he is, but so is Danni. You tried for all those years to come between us, and you never managed it. So why don’t you do us all a favour, yourself included, and just leave St Piran’s and start again?’

‘You don’t really want me to go, not deep down.’ His arrogance was breathtaking and, if Danni hadn’t seen it for herself, she wasn’t sure she’d have believed it.

‘It would be the best wedding gift anyone could give me.’ Not waiting for him to reply, Esther took hold of Danni’s hand, and turned them both around to head back to the marquee. When they were about twenty feet away, she turned slightly.

‘Is he following us?’ Danni whispered the words.

‘Nope, just standing there watching, like the sad, lonely man he deserves to be.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Danni bit her lip as they reached the marquee, the sound of laughter and singing filling the air around them.

‘Don’t you dare, you’ve got nothing to apologise for. I love you and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, and I know you feel the same way about me, because you’ve already proved it. Are you okay?’

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